Even people with slightly high blood pressure are twice as prone to cerebral and cardiac vascular diseases, including strokes and heart failures, as those with normal blood pressure, a Japanese study has found.Di 時事通信社

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, on Wednesday failed to reach an accord on their planned joint bill to revise the political funds control law, and the LDP is now expected to submit such a bill on its own.Di 時事通信社

Japanese chipmaker Rapidus Corp. signed a memorandum on Wednesday to cooperate with U.S. chip startup Esperanto Technologies Inc. in developing low power-consumption chips for data centers in the coming era of artificial intelligence.Di 時事通信社

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an met with Japanese ruling party officials, including former Prime Minister Taro Aso, in Tokyo Wednesday in his first visit to Japan since assuming office in 2022.Di 時事通信社

Honda Motor Co. is shedding over 1,000 jobs at a joint venture in China through buyout packages, people familiar with the matter said Wednesday.Di 時事通信社

Japan's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will start the second round of discharges of tritium-containing treated water for fiscal 2024 on Friday, its operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., said Wednesday.Di 時事通信社

Japanese semiconductor maker Kioxia Holdings Corp., formerly Toshiba Memory, on Wednesday posted a record net loss for the year ended March amid falling prices for flash memory chips.Di 時事通信社

Japan's industry ministry began a review of the country's basic energy plan on Wednesday, at a time when power-hungry data centers are increasing in line with the spread of artificial intelligence.Di 時事通信社

Sumitomo Chemical Co. said Wednesday that it expects to swing into a net profit in the year ending in March 2025 thanks to cost cuts after posting its biggest loss in the previous year.Di 時事通信社

The Japanese government started monitoring under law 184 last designated areas with national security significance in 28 of Japan's 47 prefectures on Wednesday, finishing enforcing regulations in all 583 such areas in the country.Di 時事通信社

The combined consolidated net profits of Japan's three megabanks in fiscal 2023 exceeded 3 trillion yen for the first time since the birth of the current structure of Japan's financial industry led by the three groups in fiscal 2005.Di 時事通信社

U.S. information technology giant Meta Platforms Inc. plans to accept a request for testimony at the Diet, Japan's parliament, following a series of investment scams using social media advertising, it was learned Wednesday.Di 時事通信社

An 18-year-old applicant for admission to Waseda University allegedly leaked entrance exam questions during the tests in February, using so-called smart glasses to take photos of the questions and post them on social media, it was learned Wednesday.Di 時事通信社

The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in April reached 3,042,900, up 4.0pctfrom the same month in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the Japan National Tourism Organization said Wednesday.Di 時事通信社

Yuan Keqin, former professor at Hokkaido University of Education, has been sentenced to six years in prison on espionage charges in China, it was learned Wednesday.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday that an envisaged rule to revoke permanent residence permits of foreigners will be limited to some malicious cases.Di 時事通信社

Japan Post Insurance Co. and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. said Wednesday that they have agreed to form a capital and business tie-up in asset management.Di 時事通信社

A high court branch Wednesday rejected a petition seeking to stop Chugoku Electric Power Co. from restarting operations of the No. 2 reactor at its Shimane nuclear power plant in western Japan.Di 時事通信社

A register listing dead victims of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima got aired at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in the western Japan city Wednesday morning.Di 時事通信社

Japan's parliament Wednesday enacted a bill to lower the threshold at which a share tender offer becomes mandatory, to over 30pctof voting rights for a target company from over one-third.Di 時事通信社

Japanese paper maker Oji Holdings Corp. has announced the establishment of a company in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, for forest plantation acquisition.Di 時事通信社

Ippei Mizuhara, a former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, appeared at a Los Angeles federal court Tuesday, pleading not guilty to bank and tax fraud as a formality.Di 時事通信社

Japan's Casio Computer Co. has announced a plan to cut about 500 jobs globally, or 5pctof its group workforce, due to its deteriorating business performance.Di 時事通信社

About 70pctof regional banks in Japan enjoyed profit growth in fiscal 2023 as their interest income rose on increased lending reflecting stronger demand for funds amid the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.Di 時事通信社

A survey by Japan's National Police Agency showed Tuesday that 17,034 elderly people living alone died at home across the country in January-March.Di 時事通信社

Japanese culture minister Masahito Moriyama asked an advisory panel on Tuesday to review the system for romanizing the Japanese language, for the first time in some 70 years.Di 時事通信社

Sony Group Corp. said Tuesday that its consolidated operating profit fell 7.2pctto 1,208.8 billion yen in the year ended last March from the previous year as its life insurance business posted sharply lower profits due to dismal investment performance.Di 時事通信社

A panel including doctors and lawyers recognized Tuesday that 30 deaths were indirectly caused by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in central Japan, in addition to the 245 people who died in the disaster.Di 時事通信社

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Tuesday that his ruling Liberal Democratic Party will write a draft bill to revise the political funds control law and present it for talks with its coalition partner, Komeito.Di 時事通信社

Pasona Group Inc. said Tuesday that it will collaborate with two entities to promote cartilage conduction technology used in earphones and other devices to support people with hearing difficulties.Di 時事通信社

Japanese figure skater Shoma Uno, a two-time world champion, said Tuesday that he feels positive about the future after announcing his retirement last week.Di 時事通信社

The political ethics panel of Japan's House of Representatives decided Tuesday to screen 44 lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over a high-profile political funds scandal involving LDP factions.Di 時事通信社

The Japanese government is increasingly concerned about a series of recent remarks by U.S. officials justifying the August 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.Di 時事通信社

A unique genetic mutation was found in more than 70pctof certain kidney cancer patients in Japan, a higher percentage than in other countries, an international team of researchers said Tuesday.Di 時事通信社

The 42 victims of a train collision in Shiga Prefecture 33 years ago were remembered at a ceremony in the city of Koka in the western Japan prefecture on Tuesday.Di 時事通信社

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Group Inc. on Tuesday reported a consolidated net loss of 42.3 billion yen for January-March, the fifth consecutive first-quarter red figure, though smaller than the 82.5-billion-yen loss a year earlier.Di 時事通信社

Uniqlo sister brand GU's first overseas flagship shop will open in New York this autumn, its operator, G.U. Co., said Tuesday.Di 時事通信社

A number of major Japanese automakers logged record consolidated profits in the year that ended in March thanks to the yen's historic slide, according to their latest earnings reports.Di 時事通信社

Nursing care insurance premiums paid by people aged 65 or over in Japan will be 6,225 yen per month on average from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2026, the welfare ministry said Tuesday.Di 時事通信社

Japan's Sharp Corp. is planning to halt operations at its factory for large LCD panels for television sets in the city of Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, informed sources said Tuesday.Di 時事通信社

Japan should maintain its commitment to a flexible exchange rate regime, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund said Monday.Di 時事通信社

A subsidiary of Japanese glass maker AGC Inc. has lost a lawsuit filed by a female clerical worker seeking damages for indirect gender discrimination.Di 時事通信社

Japanese supercomputer Fugaku has topped two sets of semiannual global rankings for computing performance for the ninth consecutive time.Di 時事通信社

Natsuo Yamaguchi, head of Komeito, the coalition partner of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, on Monday urged Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, also president of the LDP, to lead efforts to revise the political funds control law following a high-profile money scandal involving the LDP.Di 時事通信社

The Japanese government and ruling parties are considering a law revision to strengthen measures against "customer harassment," or problematic behavior by customers toward store and other workers, it was learned Monday.Di 時事通信社

The leader of a South Korean opposition party landed Monday on islands in the Sea of Japan that are controlled by Seoul but also claimed by Tokyo.Di 時事通信社

Japanese construction company Shimizu Corp. said Monday it swung to an operating loss for the first time since its 1961 stock listing in the year ended last March due mainly to higher-than-expected material costs for several large-scale projects in the country.Di 時事通信社

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. said Monday it will spend 51.9 billion yen to acquire a stake of over 15pctin Aozora Bank as part of a capital and business alliance between the two companies.Di 時事通信社

SoftBank Group Corp. on Monday reported a third straight year of consolidated net loss for the year ended last March due to investment and foreign exchange losses.Di 時事通信社

Daiwa House Industry Co. said Monday that its U.S. unit will buy up North Carolina-based land developer Prestige Corporate Development LLC to beef up the Japanese group's already bullish U.S. business.Di 時事通信社